Welcome to another edition of the weekly Atlanta Braves farm report by Last Word On Baseball! Many of the MiLB all star games have been completed and it is on to the second half of the season for these prospects. Mississippi’s Mike Soroka is the pitcher of the week after another strong outing. Catcher Brett Cumberland is the player of the week after receiving a promotion to Florida for his performance at Rome. (Prospect rankings in parenthesis. All rankings taken from MLB.com’s Atlanta Braves Prospect Watch Top 30.)
Weekly Atlanta Braves Farm Report: Brett Cumberland Receives Promotion
Gwinnett Braves (Triple-A)
The Gwinnett Braves posted a .500 week with a record of 3-3. Gwinnett remains three games over .500 on the season with a record of 38-35. The week did not start off great for the Braves as Patrick Weigel (15th) allowed nine earned runs to kick things off. Kris Medlen followed that up by allowing five runs after posting five shutout innings to begin his start. The best start this week came from Matt Wisler (unranked) who threw six shutout innings with six hits, one walk, and five strikeouts. Wisler has not made the most out of his opportunities over the past few years, but he certainly still possesses solid talent. His window of opportunity seems to be closing, and Wisler will need to make a move quickly if he wants to contribute in Atlanta.
Top prospect Ozzie Albies continues to develop his game in Gwinnett while waiting for an opening in Atlanta. Albies went 8-for-24 with a home run, a double, three runs scored, and three RBI this week. He has not posted mind-blowing numbers at Triple-A, but Albies has performed well and shown growth this season for a 20-year old player. The time will come for Albies in Atlanta. Unfortunately, Brandon Phillips just completed a streak of three straight games with a home run and owns a .349 OBP for Atlanta this season. It will be interesting to see who is manning second for Atlanta after the trade deadline. Will Phillips be traded while his value is up? Will Atlanta be patient enough to play out this season before handing Albies the second base spot?
Mississippi Braves (Double-A)
The Mississippi Braves completed just four games this week due to rain and the Southern League All-Star Game. Luiz Gohara (10th) began the week with five quality innings of two-run ball with eight strikeouts and two walks. Gohara has posted two promising results in his past three outings as he continues to find his footing in Double-A. Mississippi’s brightest star, Soroka (fourth), continues to impress this season. Soroka threw six innings with a single earned run in his last start to pick up his ninth win on the season. He now has a 9-3 record with a 2.18 ERA, .212 BAA, and 71 strikeouts in 14 starts this season.
Outfielder Ronald Acuna (seventh), first baseman Sal Giardina (unranked), and catcher Kade Scivicque (unranked) each had a three-hit game for Mississippi’s short week. The most impressive game of these was Scivicque. He went 3-for-5 with a double, two runs scored, and two RBI against the Biloxi Shuckers.
Florida Fire Frogs (Advanced-A)
The Fire Frogs posted another losing week with a record of 2-4. Touki Toussaint (11th) continues to post a confusing season. The 21-year old is now 2-8 with a 5.72 ERA in Florida; however, he has 82 strikeouts to 33 walks in 74 innings pitched. Toussaint is now tied with Nabil Crismatt for most strikeouts in the Florida State League this season. The results have been confounding, but his talent still shines. Look for Toussaint’s numbers to improve at some point.
Catching prospect Alex Jackson (23rd) is trying to find his groove after a month on the DL. Jackson is now 3-for-16 with a run and no extra-base hits in five games since his return. Hopefully he can pick things up quickly after his hot start to the season. Fellow catching prospect Cumberland (29th) was promoted to Florida this week after posting a .964 OPS and 26 extra-base hits in 55 games with Rome. Cumberland went 2-for-9 with a double and a run scored in his first three games with Florida. The competition between Cumberland and Jackson in Florida will be one thing to watch closely moving forward.
Rome Braves (Single-A)
The Rome Braves went 1-3 in their All-Star Game week. Lefty Joey Wentz (13th) made two starts for Rome and continues to impress. He posted a total line of 11.1 innings pitched, seven hits, three earned runs, 13 strikeouts, and five walks.
Two of Rome’s outfielders – Randy Ventura (unranked) and Cristian Pache (14th) – participated in the SAL All-Star game alongside Cumberland. Ventura notched a double and an RBI while Pache had a hit and a run. Pache and Ventura both rank in the top-15 for batting average in the South Atlantic League. They will look to continue in the second half what is an already strong season.
Danville Braves (Rookie Level)
The Danville Braves officially kicked their season off on Friday night! Danville went 1-2 to begin their 2017 schedule. Young lefty Dilmer Mejia (unranked) started strong with four strikeouts in two perfect innings. Kyle Muller (16th), Atlanta’s second round pick in 2016, had a rough start with four earned runs on six hits and two home runs in three innings pitched. Muller did strikeout six and should settle in moving forward.
Shortstop Derian Cruz (20th) is still looking to get rolling after being sent to Danville due to his struggles in Rome. Cruz went 1-for-10 with a double, four runs scored, and four strikeouts in his first action with Danville. There is plenty of time for the 18-year old Cruz. A little bit of patience and hard work should get his season on track.
Main Photo:
